Quantum Leap: Scientists use IBM quantum computers to simulate protein complexes

Welcome to the latest edition of “Quantum Leap” where The Fly decodes news and activity in the quantum computing space.

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QUANTUM REALIZED: D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) will host Qubits Europe 2026: Quantum Realized, a full-day quantum computing user conference on June 18 in London, England. The company said, “Qubits Europe 2026 comes at a time of growing momentum for quantum computing across Europe. Governments, research institutions and enterprises across the region are increasing their focus on quantum technologies as drivers of innovation, competitiveness and economic growth. The UK recently reinforced its support for quantum commercialization, infrastructure and public-sector adoption in the service of social prosperity and security, while King Charles III, in his April 28, 2026, address to the U.S. Congress, cited quantum computing among the technologies shaping future UK-U.S. prosperity and innovation. At the same time, the European Union has continued to elevate quantum as a strategic priority through new investment and policy initiatives, and Italy has also increased its emphasis on quantum through national strategy efforts and advocacy from innovation leaders including Undersecretary Alessio Butti. Against this backdrop, Qubits Europe 2026 will convene leading quantum innovators, customers and experts for a full-day event showcasing how organizations are already using D-Wave quantum computing technology to address complex challenges in business, science and government. London in particular is a hub for quantum innovation and research, bringing together world-class academic institutions, a growing community of quantum startups and global technology leaders, supported by sustained government investment and a strong policy focus on commercialization.”

PHOTONIC QUANTUM SYSTEMS: Xanadu Quantum (XNDU) and EV Group, or EVG, a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment, announced a strategic partnership to develop critical heterogeneous integration and wafer bonding processes to facilitate the scalability of photonic quantum systems. Throughout this partnership, Xanadu and EVG expect to utilize EVG’s industrial manufacturing tools to fabricate the specialized chips used in Xanadu’s photonic quantum computers, with the goal of accelerating the progression of quantum computing chip manufacturing from the lab to high-volume production. The company said, “This collaboration is working towards a shift from demonstrator systems to industrial-scale quantum hardware. By leveraging EVG’s advanced bonding solutions, Xanadu is streamlining the transition of complex photonic circuits from specialized labs to standard semiconductor foundries, accelerating the timeline for a commercially viable, fault-tolerant quantum computer.”

PROTEIN COMPLEX SIMULATION: Scientists at Cleveland Clinic, Riken, and IBM (IBM) have used IBM quantum computers and two supercomputers to simulate protein complexes spanning up to 12,635 atoms. The companies said these are the largest-known simulations of biologically meaningful molecules performed with quantum hardware yet, and signal that quantum computers are maturing into useful scientific tools which can help solve fundamental problems in biology, chemistry, and life sciences. The results were achieved in part by an innovative algorithm that optimizes how quantum and classical computers can work together, a framework known as quantum-centric supercomputing. Using this approach, the team captured the behavior of two biochemically relevant proteins that are roughly 40 times larger than what this same method could initially achieve just six months ago. Additionally, the accuracy of the simulations in a key step of the workflow improved by up to 210 times over this same period. “For years, quantum computing has been a promise. Now, quantum computers are producing results that matter to science,” said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “The systems we simulated here are the kind of molecules that biologists and chemists work with in the real world. Quantum computers are no longer proving they are viable tools – they are proving they can contribute meaningful results in quantum-centric supercomputing architectures.”

ATOMIC CLOCK: Quantum X Labs (QXL) announced the filing of a U.S. patent application covering a novel compact atomic clock. By interrogating rubidium atoms with correlated optical fields the system suppresses existing atom clocks. The technology covered by the patent application is based on a compact atomic clock architecture using Ramsey coherent population trapping.

LAUNCH: IonQ (IONQ) announced the commercial launch of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar capabilities through its space missions line. The offering enables millimeter-precision ground deformation monitoring with fully automated tasking and data delivery. The InSAR solution removes manual coordination and long revisit intervals.

VEHICLE DESIGN PACT: IBM and the Dallara Group announced a collaboration to advance vehicle design and optimization using AI and explore the use of quantum computing. The work combines Dallara’s expertise in high-performance vehicle engineering with IBM’s AI for physics and quantum computing to investigate how to accelerate aerodynamic design and open a path to even more advanced simulation workflows. As part of the project, IBM has been developing domain-specific foundation models in close coordination with Dallara.